EliteNewbie

Details:

Currently MP Platinum for 2012
I used miles + $$$ for an international upgrade to Business First.

I'm currently wait-listed for the upgrade (I have no global upgrades)

bucket status is J and C fare class remaining

flight is 5 days away

When will I know if I get one of the last remaining seats?
Should I call to skirt the system glitches or take my chances at the airport day-of?

thanks FT Community!

chinatraderjmr

What route? Are there any R class avail? How many C left? Need a lot more info

ryman554

Only call if you see R availability and you have not cleared.

Best bet there is to request an upgrade, have them say that they see availability and ask you how you want to support it, and then mention that you have an UG already requested....

craz

you can call all you want to , but even if All the BF seats are empty until they put some seats into the correct bucket theres Nothing any Rep can do for You. Now if RN > 0 (I believe RN is for Intl) then calling can help

It also depends where you are flying to since UA doesnt fly into KEF your UP will never clear. Some citys where they know they can and do sell last min BF seats they will hold some for last min sales. Then comes the WL and there are different WLs and who has Priority in clearing

WineCountryUA

RN is R space for Plats and above -- presently it is not clear if UA has implemented RN, seems so far R=RN always.

karenkay

Generally speaking these days cash is king, so the fact that you used $$$ plus miles would increase your odds...but as other posters noted without more information it's really just a guess.

EliteNewbie

no R seats remaining, but the seat map shows multiple remaining seats in business first.

I called in to United, and was told that, if my $$$+miles upgrade does not clear before the 24h window before takeoff, then I could try "at the airport" after checking in...

Agent says, "I've seen miles + $$$ re-deposited and planes leave without filling the BF seats..." <my jaw hit the floor>

Can anyone explain the rationale behind this? If I'm using miles + $$$ (and note, they have already charged my credit card), why would they drop me from the waitlist, "hopefully" return the $$$ + miles, and then let the BF seats fly empty? I thought United would want my $$$$?

star_world

Not true - upgrades using miles + $ are not prioritised higher than upgrades using GPUs.

Misinformed agent. If your upgrade doesn't clear you'll be moved to the airport-controlled upgrade list when you check in (the one you can see on the mobile site). This upgrade list is processed at the gate.

If there are quite a few open seats it's highly likely that your upgrade will clear 24-48 hours out. Keep checking for R availability between now and then and you can call to be upgraded immediately.

EliteNewbie

Did you see that in print anywhere? or is that just common knowledge?

Thanks

star_world

From this page: http://www.united.com/web/en-US/cont...e/default.aspx

Status, fare class, then time added to waitlist are the determining factors.

farbster

My wife and I are on flight UA 120 (EWR-BCN) on 7/20/12. We have regular economy seats. My friend is giving us 2 upgrades. This flight has "Business First" and we have been on the upgrade list for a bit.

How long does it usually take to clear the list? My friend has pretty good status (not sure of the exact status he has, but he does have his tuchus in the plane quote a bit).

When I check United's website, there show to be 16 seats in Business First and 6 of them are available.

Our return flight is from Milan (MXP) and there shows to be much more availability in Business First (many more seats and they're probably not as nice of a seat).

I hate to bug my friend, but do you think I should ask him to try to upgrade us on the return? Would that be more likely to clear?

TIA

mlx52

Do either of the flights have R/RN space open? If the MXP flight has R space, I'd do that upgrade. I've seen a lot of 752 flights go to the gate at which point you'll clear on your own status and not the status of the sponsor. Better to request an upgrade when space is actually available.

craz

Id think MXP is more Biz travel then BCN is. Not sure when the return is for , if its when Europe is closed for vacation or not. If not then most likely theres alot of last min biz tkts being purchased so they will wait hoping they sell the seats

channa

I think it's actually a well informed agent. Instead of telling us how the system is supposed to work, the agent communicated how the system actually does work.

The transition from the waitlist to the airport standby list has not been very clean. Many have reported not transitioning over automatically.

If you're not on top of it and watching the lists yourself, it's very possible that you may end up with the outcome the agent described -- your miles and copay refunded, and BF seats flying empty. And even if you catch it where you do not show up on the airport list, it's not a guarantee you'll be able to find an airport agent who can do it, or that you have enough time to have them research it before it's time to go. So again, it's possible that you may end up with the outcome the agent described -- your miles and copay refunded, and BF seats flying empty.

Remember that outside of FT, people may not monitor this stuff religiously. They may show up at the gate and only then realize they're not on the list correctly. Or if they're at legacy CO hub (e.g., IAH or EWR), there may be no board, and they'll never know unless they inquire.

star_world

Now that's more accurate. Are you honestly trying to convince us that the agent would be "well informed" because they give an answer that is only correct on a tiny portion of bookings? What a joke.

Sure the process breaks from time to time - but do you actually believe that outcome is more common than it working?